Effects on concurrent performances of a stimulus correlated with reinforcer availability.
A short cue that signals ‘reinforcer ready’ pulls choice toward that option and keeps clients there longer.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Pigeons pecked two keys for food. Each key paid off on its own schedule.
A brief light came on when food was ready on one key. The light never appeared for the other key.
The team watched how the light changed the birds’ key choice and how often they switched.
What they found
The light pulled most pecks to the key that had the light. Birds stayed on that key longer.
Switching between keys dropped sharply when the light was on. The light acted like a magnet for choice.
How this fits with other research
Macht (1971) ran a similar setup one year earlier. Brief food-paired stimuli also raised response rates and cut pausing. The 1972 study widens that idea to two choices at once.
Belisle et al. (2017) tested humans picking slot machines. Bonus-round stimuli shifted choice the same way the light biased pigeons. Same rule, new species.
Craig et al. (2017) used food-correlated lights 45 years later to tame resurgence. The once-basic lab cue now helps curb relapse after extinction.
Why it matters
Your clients make choices between tasks, toys, or work stations. A signal tied to good things can steer them to the better option and cut hopping around. Try adding a brief preferred sound or color when the richer schedule is active. Watch stay-put time grow.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
A multiple schedule was arranged in which each component consisted of two, concurrent variable-interval schedules of reinforcement. A changeover-key procedure was used, and the components of the multiple schedule were distinguished (initially) by the color of the changeover key. During one component of the multiple schedule, the availability of a reinforcer arranged by one of the variable-interval schedules was marked by an exteroceptive stimulus, provided that that variable-interval schedule was not at the time assigned to the main key. During the other component of the multiple schedule, no reinforcer-correlated stimuli were ever presented. During the latter component of the multiple schedule, the distribution of responses and time for the concurrent variable-interval schedules suggested control by the distribution of reinforcements. During the former component, most main-key responses were emitted on the key in the presence of which reinforcer-correlated stimuli were presented. Changeover rate in the presence of that key color was depressed. The discriminative control over the changeover was easily established and was reversible.
Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior, 1972 · doi:10.1901/jeab.1972.17-221